Hastings-trained Unlaced scoring a determined short neck win over Dawnlight in a maiden 1600m event at last week's Hawke's Bay meeting.
The Group 2 $100,000 Little Avondale Lowland Stakes at Hastings on February 26 could be on the agenda for Hastings-trained Unlaced providing she keeps progressing.
The Niagara 3-year-old filly capped off two good second placings with a deserved maiden win over 1600m on her home track last week and looks a horse with good staying potential.
Co-trainer Guy Lowry, who prepares the filly in partnership with Grant Cullen, said this week the plan is to run her next in a Rating 65 race over 1600m at Gisborne on Sunday week and then look at running in the Lowland Stakes (2100m).
"She would have to perform very well again in the Gisborne race," Lowry said.
"It will be another 1600m run for her and that should have her ready to run out the 2100 of the Lowland Stakes."
Unlaced had recorded second placings at 1200m and 1400m before stepping up to 1600 at Hastings last week. Jockey Lisa Allpress got her away well from a tricky barrier draw and had her sitting outside the leader Dawnlight in the first 200m.
She then bided her time until the home straight where she gave Unlaced a bit more rein and the filly quickly assumed control.
Dawnlight rallied again inside the final 200 metres but Unlaced held on gamely for a short neck win. The well supported Scutar was three-quarters of a length further back in third place.
Unlaced is owned by her Auckland breeder and well known racing photographer Trish Dunell. She is out of the Keeninsky mare Laced Up, who is a half-sister to the former top galloper Jimmy Choux.
The John Bary-trained Jimmy Choux recorded 12 wins, five seconds and two thirds from only 26 starts. He won five races at the elite level, including the New Zealand Derby (2400m) and Hawke's Bay Spring Classic (2040m) and finished second in the Cox Plate (2040m).
Laced Up only had two starts for one second placing and was bought by Dunell from her Hawke's Bay breeders Richard and Liz Wood, who raced Jimmy Choux.
Serena, one of the most impressive winners at last week's Hawke's Bay meeting, could be tackling a stakes race next month.
Trainer John Bary said this week the Swiss Ace filly will now head to the three-year-old set weights and penalties 1400 at Hastings on February 26 and, providing she performs well there, the Group 3 $100,000 Wellington Guineas (1400m) on March 14 could be on the agenda.
"That's the race that we are also setting Callsign Mav for so, hopefully, we could have two runners in a stakes race at Trentham," Bary said this week.
Serena certainly left a big impression when winning a Rating 65 race over 1300m at Hastings, where she was up against older horses and gave most of them a decent start on the home bend and a sound beating.
Rider Samantha Collett bounced the filly out well from the barrier but then took a hold and let her settle back beyond midfield in the eight horse field.
Coming to the home turn Serena was still back third last but Collett clearly had a handful of horse under her. When she got the filly to the centre of the track, she charged home to collar the tearaway pacemaker Magic Incanto in the last few strides and score by a neck, with 1-3/4 lengths back to third placed Lady Lira.
Serena was a $17,000 purchase by Bary from the 2018 Two-year-old Ready To Run sale at Karaka and is raced by him in partnership with Hamilton-based Todd Bawden.
The filly, who scored her only other victory over 1200m at Wairoa 12 months ago, is a half-sister to the two-time winner Beach Beauty.
Napier businessman Simon Tremain has had success as a racehorse owner in Australia in recent weeks and also picked up a win on this side of the Tasman when Rum made an auspicious debut at last week's Hawke's Bay meeting.
The Burgundy 3-year-old led practically all the way in a 1200m maiden event and showed a tremendous turn of foot in the final 300m to race away for an impressive 1-1/4 length win.
Tremain owns a five per cent share in Rum and is also a shareholder in Viscosity, a 3-year-old by Savabeel who has won his last two starts in Australia and is now being aimed at the Queensland Derby later this year.
Rum is trained at Cambridge by Shaune Ritchie, who paid $105,000 for the gelding at the 2018 Karaka yearling sales.
Another shareholder in the horse is former Hawke's Bay man Craig Baker, who is now manager of racing and operations at the Auckland Racing Club.
Baker said this week that he and Ritchie went to the Karaka sales two years ago in search of a likely Burgundy yearling to syndicate.
"We missed out on a few and then I saw this one and he looked magnificent," Baker recalled.
"Shaune liked the look of him too and so we bought him and syndicated him from there."
Rum had been offered as part of the Milan Park Stud draft whose principal, Tony Rider, was happy to stay in the horse for a 10 per cent share while several friends of Baker were also keen to become involved.
Rum is out of the Pins mare Show No Emotion, who was the winner of three races including one over 1600m at Hastings.
Waipukurau's Michael Ormsby is proving to be a great advertisement for Te Akau racing syndicates.
The treasurer and long time committeeman of the Waipukurau Jockey Club is a member of four separate syndicates run under the Te Akau banner and has celebrated success with all four.
His latest winner came at Matamata last Sunday when Need I Say More produced an impressive debut performance to take out a maiden two-year-old race over 1100m.
Need I Say More is raced by the Te Akau Never Say Die Syndicate of which Ormsby has a share.
He is also a shareholder in the Te Akau Avantage Syndicate, the Te Akau Galway Girl Syndicate and the Te Akau Think Fast Syndicate.
The Te Akau Avantage Syndicate races the dual Group 1 winning mare Avantage, whose eight victories include the 2018 Karaka Million (1200m), the Group 1 Manawatu Sires' Produce Stakes (1400m) and last month's Group 1 Telegraph Sprint (1200m) at Trentham.
The Te Akau Galway Girl Syndicate races Spirit Of Galway (two wins) while the Te Akau Think Fast Syndicate has picked up a win with Shezathinka.
Need I Say More followed up a trial win over 800m at Matamata on January 14 with a dominant two length victory last Sunday. Jockey Opie Bosson made full use of the gelding's inside draw, hunting him out of the barrier to take a clear lead at the end of the first 300 metres.
From then on, the horse was always travelling kindly in front and went to the line with a comfortable margin over stablemate Cornflower Blue.
Need I Say More was a $130,000 purchase from last year's Karaka yearling sales by Te Akau principal David Ellis and is by the Australian-based sire No Nay Never out of the Fastnet Rock mare Bo Bardi.
The 2-year-old is now expected to contest the Group 3 $70,000 Waikato Stud Slipper (1200m) at Matamata on February 22.
Gloss, part-owned by Havelock North's Neil Murphy, capped off some reasonably good recent performances with a decisive win in a $22,500 Rating 65 race over 1600m at Wingatui last Saturday.
It was win number four for the Coats Choice mare but her first success since she won another Rating 65 race over 1600m on the same track in March 2018. In between the two wins, Gloss had recorded six seconds and a third.
The mare, prepared by the Riccarton father and son combination of Michael and Matthew Pitman, had been plagued by wide draws in her recent races but jumped from barrier three last Saturday.
Apprentice Kavish Chowdhoory had her in a trailing position from the outset and she kicked on strongly over the final stages to win by three-quarters of a length.
Murphy said this week that Gloss is coming to the end of her racing career but he and several close friends have now taken out a share in an unraced Burgundy 3-year-old trained at Hastings by John Bary.
Handy staying mare Etah James has returned to New Zealand and will be set for a tilt at the Group 1 Barfoot & Thompson Auckland Cup (3200m) at Ellerslie on March 7.
The 7-year-old has re-joined Matamata horseman Mark Lupton, who part-owns the mare with his wife Cath and fellow breeders Terry Reid and Gary Howes.
Two starts back Etah James won the Listed Pakenham Cup (2500m) for Ballarat trainer Matt Cumani, who has prepared the Raise The Flag mare to win seven races to date.
"We were going to keep her in Australia and have a crack at the Adelaide Cup but she's got some sarcoids on her face and they need treating," Lupton said.
"The vets over there wanted a small fortune, so with all things being equal we decided to bring her home and treat her here.
"We had her nominated for the Auckland Cup and it's worth more than the Adelaide Cup. Maybe our stayers are not as strong as Australia so we talked to our two mates in the horse and decided to bring her home and give her a go and start her treatment, which we've done."
Lupton, who trained the mare for four starts in New Zealand last year, said he was delighted with the condition in which the mare returned from Australia and he was pleased with her exhibition gallop between races at Matamata last Sunday as she builds towards the Group 2 Avondale Cup (2400m) at Ellerslie tomorrow week.
"Matt's done an amazing job, she came home in excellent order," he said.
"I was pleased with her exhibition gallop, so it's onwards and upwards and hopefully we go a good race in the Avondale Cup and can push on for the Auckland Cup."
Lupton recognises that this could be Etah James' final racing season, with the broodmare paddock most likely where her future lies in spring.
"She's a good mare. She has won half a million over there and not many of them do that."